Chelsea loan stars who could be looking for new clubs this January and where they might be heading

The January transfer window isn’t yet a fortnight old yet there’s already been plenty of activity on the Chelsea loanee front.

With more than thirty young prospects temporarily plying their trade elsewhere this might not come as a surprise but Eddie Newton and his team looking after them certainly have some shuffling of the deck to do before the window slams shut again at the end of the month.

We’ve asked Blues expert @chelseayouth to give us a half-season verdict on a few of the Blues young guns scattered out across the English leagues and beyond who are looking for a fresh challenge in the second half of the campaign, as well as those who have already moved on.

Who has been making waves and which of the loan army have begun to stagnate? Where next for the youngsters in need of more minutes on the pitch? Those questions and more are all answered by the man who has followed the prospects most closely over the past few months.

Patrick Bamford

The former England Under-21 forward chose to cut short his stay at Selhurst Park due to a lack of playing time.

He’ll likely turn his attention towards a more suitable Premier League arrangement – Swansea have been linked, as were Bournemouth before moving for Benik Afobe – while he could also reconsider a move overseas after turning down advances from David Moyes and Real Sociedad last summer.

An important sidebar on Bamford is to remember that if he makes any sort of appearance for Chelsea during his return stay – including Under-21 appearances – he can no longer go on a top-flight or overseas loan move this season due to FIFA’s regulations on playing for three clubs in the same season.

The same issue afflicted Nathaniel Chalobah twelve months ago and would leave him with only an emergency loan deal to a Championship club as an alternative to staying at Stamford Bridge.

Christian Atsu

Christian Atsu played just twice for Bournemouth in the League Cup and spent much of his time on the south coast struggling with a stress fracture of the back.

This time last year he was about to embark upon an African Cup of Nations which would see him named as the Player of the Tournament and, simply put, he needs to find a place to play regularly between now and June having not done so for eighteen months now.

Jordan Houghton & Alex Davey

Jordan Houghton and Alex Davey both returned from League One deals at Gillingham and Peterborough respectively; each beginning well before falling out of favour as winter closed in.

The preference for both would be to get them back out to similar moves at the same level but, depending on the balance of Adi Viveash’s Under-21 squad and other players who need to go out on loan, they could be kept around to further their development in-house.

Wallace

Heading home: Chelsea's Wallace

Wallace has swapped Serie A minnows Carpi for a return to Brazil and to Gremio.

He’ll spend the next eighteen months trying to get his career back on track in his homeland.

The most notable short-term target is to impress enough to earn a place in the Brazilian squad for the 2016 Olympic Football Tournament, hosted, of course, in Rio.

Islam Feruz

Hibs hell: Islam Feruz of Chelsea (Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Islam Feruz is expected to leave Hibernian and find a new home having also not played very much football.

Everyone else under Newton’s control is pretty well set in place.

Some might not be playing as much as they would like but, using Nathaniel Chalobah as an example, the situation is still favourable as he’s working with a talented coach in a top-class environment for a team fighting for trophies on multiple fronts.

Ulises Dávila

Sold: Ulises Davila

There's one more on our list of notable loanees and that's Ulises Dávila, who has already been sold this month.

The 25 year-old Mexican forward who has spent the majority of his time contracted to Chelsea flitting between Spanish second tier clubs.

However, he has finally departed on a permanent basis and returned to his home country with Santos Laguna.

He said: “It’s great to see the interest from Santos and everyone who has given me confidence from the beginning since they sought me out.

“I’m eager to continue in my career, to be a major player and I think (this opportunity) comes at the perfect time.

"I am mature, physically fit and eager, with a strong will to compete and do important things with this club.”

Keep up to date with all the goings on with Chelsea’s young guns via the excellent @chelseayouth Twitter account.